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Evo Morales: Let's Respect Our Mother Earth

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quote:President Evo Morales: Sister and brother Presidents and Heads of States of the United Nations: The world is suffering from a fever due to climate change, and the disease is the capitalist development model.

What a decent greeting. And he gets right to the point.

quote:Faced with this bleak future, transnational interests are proposing to continue as before, and paint the machine green, which is to say, continue with growth and irrational consumerism and inequality, generating more and more profits, without realising that we are currently consuming in one year what the planet produces in one year and three months. Faced with this reality, the solution can not be an environmental make over.

I like that expression, "paint the machine green". Greenwashing, some call it.

quote:Faced with this situation, we – the indigenous peoples and humble and honest inhabitants of this planet – believe that the time has come to put a stop to this, in order to rediscover our roots, with respect for Mother Earth; with the Pachamama as we call it in the Andes. Today, the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the world have been called upon by history to convert ourselves into the vanguard of the struggle to defend nature and life.

A new vanguard? I don't think he means to simply form a political party, however. Indigenous peoples have a huge untapped spiritual and moral momentum that could make them such a "vanguard".

quote:Who else but the indigenous people, can point out the path for humanity in order to preserve nature, natural resources and the territories that we have inhabited from ancient times?

I wish that our head of government could send a letter like this to the UN and say what Evo Morales of Bolivia has said.I wish that the citizens of Canada would choose the way of life that Morales describes, and make the decisions that would see the changes that are needed.I wish that when I leave this world, as I will soon do, that the world would be a better place for my grandchildren than what seems to be looming on the horizon.I know that we are running out of time.

quote:I know that change is not easy when an extremely powerful sector has to renounce their extraordinary profits for the planet to survive. In my own country I suffer, with my head held high, this permanent sabotage because we are ending privileges so that everyone can "Live Well" and not better than our counterparts. I know that change in the world is much more difficult than in my country, but I have absolute confidence in human beings, in their capacity to reason, to learn from mistakes, to recuperate their roots, and to change in order to forge a just, diverse, inclusive, equilibrated world in harmony with nature.

Truly inspiring. It will call for sacrifice - particularly from the auto and oil industries. The market forces that CONTROL our lives must be challenged.

Perhaps, for fear of treading on Labor's toes, there seems a reticence to discuss the problems and potential solutions in particular, or key, areas. Of course, jobs are important, but there can be as many made as lost in attempting to build a greenerplanet.

In message board discussion of today's many challenges, no matter the forum, we should not feel we are walking on eggs.

In this country, labour and environmental concerns have much common ground. Contrast the approach of the forest industry in BC, for example, versus the more environmentally enlightened approach of the unions in the industry. Furthermore, the NDP has done a good job, mostly, of combining these two concerns to its electoral success.

The auto industry is a problem. But I don't see why buying cars from other countries, for example, is going to do any more good for the environment than buying North American made cars.

quote: The auto industry is a problem. But I don't see why buying cars from other countries, for example, is going to do any more good for the environment than buying North American made cars.

I think most wish to be loyal to the home product but where a vehicle is concerned, many no doubt feel such loyalty is trumped by environmental concerns.

Further, if the reported current class-action lawsuit against much of the auto industry proves valid, it seems that loyalty, where it existed, has not always been returned. (Lawsuit referred to in another thread - G&M article))

quote:Film on Evo Morales to Be Released in OctoberPor / Miйrcoles, 19 de Septiembre del 2007 / 9:46:59 /

The film "Evo Pueblo", about the life of Bolivian President Evo Morales, will be released in October in 50 theaters in this Andean nation, director Tonchi Antezana announced last Sunday.

The moviemaker noted that the film would also be exhibited in Spain and Argentina.

The two-hour-long film tells the story of the first indigenous president, including his childhood in the Bolivian altiplano and the many jobs he did to survive.

The motion picture also deals with Moralesґs trade union leadership when he was a coca grower in the region of Chapare, in the department of Cochabamba, where he became a politician and ran for the presidency of the country, winning the elections and taking office in January 2006.

According to Antezana, in "Evo Pueblo", which was completed in June, four actors play different periods in the life of the Bolivian head of State.

He added that the film shows how Bolivian farmers live and that democracy can take an Aimara leader to power.

Originally posted by N.Beltov:Here is the final paragraph from Morales' speech:

quote: I know that change is not easy when an extremely powerful sector has to renounce their extraordinary profits for the planet to survive. In my own country I suffer, with my head held high, this permanent sabotage because we are ending privileges so that everyone can "Live Well" and not better than our counterparts. I know that change in the world is much more difficult than in my country, but I have absolute confidence in human beings, in their capacity to reason, to learn from mistakes, to recuperate their roots, and to change in order to forge a just, diverse, inclusive, equilibrated world in harmony with nature.

Surely he doesn't think that the "extremely powerful sector" is going to "renounce their extraordinary profits" voluntarily?

Surely he doesn't think that the "extremely powerful sector" is going to "renounce their extraordinary profits" voluntarily?[/QB]

Nope.. Which his why he & Chavez has made these changes MANDOTAORY, which has included the nationalization of some reluctant private industries.

Our govt in Canada have chosen to collect some of the lowest royalties on the planet, and allowing private industry, to dictate what happens in Alberta & of the coast of Novascotia, as well as the subjugation of the Canadian Auto & Aerospace (Avro Aero ) to US control.

Respect for mother earth, our environment and all lifeforms is still an alien concept to the powers that be in Canadian govt.

We collectively need to wakeup from our slumber, and start to listen to the wisdom of our ancestors. Instead of following the 500yr tradition of western Colonial disaster.

"insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result "

La Paz, Aug 29, 2009 -- The president of the United Nations General Assembly, Rev. Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, on Saturday declared Bolivian President Evo Morales as "World Hero of Mother Earth" in a ceremony at the presidential palace in this capital.

With a medal and a parchment scroll, the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization named Morales "the maximum exponent and paradigm of love for Mother Earth" in the resolution for his decoration that was read during the ceremony.

The document added that the decision was taken "after extensive consultation" among representatives of the General Assembly's member countries.

D'Escoto recalled that Morales "was the one who most helped" the United Nations declare last April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, or "Pachamama" as Mother Earth is said in Bolivia's Aymara Indian tongue.

For his part, the president said that the honor is not for Evo Morales, "but for our ancestors and the native peoples" that "have always defended Mother Earth." He added that he will continue trying to get the international community to acknowledge the rights of Mother Earth.

Besides Morales, the former Cuban head of state Fidel Castro has been named "World Hero of Solidarity" and the late ex-president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, will be honored as "World Hero of Social Justice."

"What we want to do is present these three people to the world and say that they embody virtues and values worth emulation by all of us," said D'Escoto, who like the socialist Morales is a staunch critic of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

I want to share and propose for debate some 10 commandments to save the planet, for humanity and for life, not only at this level but also to debate among our communities, and our organisations.

First, if we want to save the planet earth to save life and humanity, we are obliged to end the capitalist system. The grave effects of climate change, of the energy, food and financial crises, are not a product of human beings in general, but rather of the capitalist system at it is, inhuman, with its idea of unlimited industrial development.

Second, to renounce war, because the people do not win in war, but only the imperial powers; the nations do not win, but rather the transnational corporations. Wars benefit a small group of families and not the people. The trillions of millions of dollars used for war should be directed to repair and cure Mother Earth wounded by climate change.

Third proposal for debate: a world without imperialism nor colonialism. Our relationships should be oriented to the principle of complementarity, and to take into account the profound asymmetries that exist family to family, country to country, and continent to continent.

And the fourth point is oriented to the issue of water, which ought to be guaranteed as a human right to avoid its privatisation into few hands, given that water is life.

As the fifth point, I would like to say that we need to end the energy debacle. In 100 years we are using up fossil energies created during millions of years. As some presidents are setting aside lands for luxury automobiles and not for human beings, we need to implement policies to impede the use of agro-fuels and in this way to avoid the hunger and misery for our peoples.

As a sixth point: in relationship to the Mother Earth, the capitalist system treats the Mother Earth as a raw material, but the Earth cannot be understood as a commodity; who could privatise, rent or lease their own mother? I propose that we organise an international movement in defence of Mother Nature, in order to recover the health of Mother Earth and re-establish a harmonious and responsible life with her.

A central theme as the seventh point for debate is that basic services, whether they be water, electricity, education or health, need to be taken into account as human rights.

As the eighth point, to consume what is needed, prioritise what we produce and consume locally, end consumerism, decadence and luxury. We need to prioritise local production for local consumption, stimulating self-reliance and the sovereignty of the communities within the limits that the health and remaining resources the planet permits.

As the next to last point, to promote the diversity of cultures and economies. To live in unity respecting our differences, no only physical, but also economic, through economies managed by the communities and their associations.

Sisters and brothers, as the tenth point, we propose to Live Well, not live better at the expense of another, [but] Live Well based on the lifestyle of our peoples, the riches of our communities, fertile lands, water and clean air. Socialism is talked about a lot, but we need to improve this socialism, improve the proposals for socialism in the XXI century, building a communitarian socialism, or simply Live Well, in harmony with Mother Earth, respecting the shared life ways of the community.

President Evo Morales announced Tuesday that his government is completing the nationalization of Bolivia’s electricity sector by seizing control of its main power grid from a Spanish-owned company

Morales took advantage of the symbolism of May Day, the international day of the worker, to order troops to occupy installations of the company, a subsidiary of Red Electrica Corporacion SA.

The president’s placing of another of what he deems basic services under state control comes as neighboring Argentina moves to take control of the country’s oil company, YPF, from the Spanish energy company Repsol SA, which had held a majority interest.